Game firms cap teen spending

Major social networking game operators Gree Inc. and DeNA Co. have decided to limit young users’ monthly spending on their game content at ¥10,000, sources said Tuesday.

They made the decisions in response to growing calls for such caps to be introduced as many young customers tend to spend tens of thousands of yen a month partly to obtain game characters.

Starting Thursday, Gree will limit monthly spending at ¥10,000 for users aged between 16 and 19 and at ¥5,000 for those aged 15 or under.

DeNA will introduce a monthly cap of ¥10,000 for users aged 16 and 17 in June. The limit for users aged 15 or under will be set at ¥5,000.

Gree, DeNA and four other social networking game service firms — NHN Japan Corp., CyberAgent Inc., Dwango Co. and Mixi Inc. — have discussed how to ensure proper use of such game sites by young people at their joint committee set up in March.